Aquafil, Speedo to recycle swimwear fabric

Italian yarn company Aquafil has partnered with Speedo USA to recycle the latter’s swimwear scrap material into Econyl nylon. Speedo’s PowerFLEX Eco swimwear will be made from the nylon 6, creating a closed-loop manufacturing partnership between the two companies.

In the swimwear industry, post-production fabric waste has previously been unsuitable for traditional recycling due to its complex technical composition. Aquafil has developed a technology that can turn swimwear fabric and other blended-materials waste into new raw nylon.

The process separates usable nylon from Speedo’s blended post-production fabric scraps. The used nylon will then be upcycled into raw nylon fiber that can be made into new PowerFLEX Eco swimwear.

PowerFLEX Eco fabric is composed of 78 percent ECONYL nylon and 22 percent Extra Life Lycra.